Day 5: Johannesburg to Botswana

On June 28, our group left Johannesburg and began the next part of our journey. We traveled through Zimbabwe and crossed into Botswana, eventually arriving in Kasane. After several days of learning through museums, schools, monuments, and public spaces in South Africa, this day shifted us into a different kind of classroom.

Before we even reached the hotel, the landscape began to change. From the bus, we saw kudu, impalas, mongooses, baboons, and a warthog. It’s amazing to think that these are every day sightings for the people here. 

We spent the previous days thinking deeply about history, justice, education, inequality, and memory and suddenly, we were looking out the window at animals moving through the land as if reminding us that this region cannot be understood through history alone. Location matters. Environment matters. What people protect, preserve, live beside, and depend on matters too.

By the time we arrived at Cresta Mowana, unloaded our luggage, and boarded the river cruise, I think many of us were tired but still awake to the moment. As we moved along the Chobe River, we gasped, pointed and took so many pictures and videos. Again and again, people said some version of, “I can’t believe I’m here.” That phrase has been the theme of this program.

We saw elephants feeding in the grass, crocodiles resting near the water, giraffes near the riverbank, vervet monkeys, pied kingfishers, kudu, and more birds than I could identify. We even saw a hippo widen his mouth as if posing for us. But the experience was not simply about seeing animals. It was about seeing them in relationship to the river, the grass, the trees, and one another. It was a lesson in interdependence, and one that we were all eager to learn from.

As meaningful as the river cruise was, one of the strongest takeaways for me came later that evening at dinner. After we ate, a group of performers shared music and dancing with us. There were drums, whistles, singing, movement, and rhythm. Almost immediately, members of our group were invited to join in. What could have been a performance quickly became a shared experience.

That moment has stayed with me because it connected to something I have felt throughout this trip: the strong sense of community in the countries we have visited. We have seen it in schools, in public spaces, in meals, in music, and in the way people welcome us into their stories. At dinner, dancing became a way to feel that sense of community immediately. It did not require the same language, background, or experience. The rhythm made space for everyone.

That message is especially meaningful to me as a teacher. I spend a lot of time thinking about how to help students connect with one another and with the world beyond our classroom. This trip is reminding me that learning is not only about information. It is also about participation. It is about being willing to enter into an experience, even when you don’t know every step and you might look silly. Dancing that night reminded me that community can be built quickly when people are invited in with joy instead of hesitation.

As an art teacher, I also think about how humans communicate through more than words. Visual art, music, dance, clothing, food, architecture, and ceremony all carry meaning. They help people say, “This is who we are,” and they invite others to listen. That night, dance became a language we could all understand, even if we could not fully understand every song, step, or tradition behind it.

I am especially grateful to Impact Alamance and the Alamance Chamber of Commerce for making my participation in this experience possible. Their support allowed me to be part of this journey and to gather ideas, questions, and inspiration that I will carry back to my students. This experience is helping me grow as a person and as a teacher who wants students to see beyond the walls of our classroom and understand their place in a much larger world.

June 28 was a day of crossing borders, but it was also a day of widening perspective. We crossed into Botswana, onto the Chobe River, and into a deeper understanding of how place, community, and shared experience shape the way we learn. For me, it was a reminder that the world is full of lessons waiting outside the frame, and sometimes the most powerful thing a teacher can do is keep learning.

Day 4: Constitutional Court, Apartheid Museum, Soweto, and the Hector Pieterson Memorial

Day 4 gave us a deeper look at South Africa’s history, democracy, inequality, and ongoing work toward justice.

On the way to the Constitutional Court, we drove through several very affluent neighborhoods. Many homes had large walls, gates, and security features, and some had their own tennis courts. After visiting community-based schools and programs yesterday, the contrast was very clear. It gave us another view of the income inequality Daryl had told us about when we first arrived.

One small thing I keep noticing from the bus is that people are often curious about us. Many people look up as we pass. If I catch someone’s eye and smile, they almost always smile back, and most wave.

Our first stop was the Constitutional Court of South Africa. The Court is built on the site of the former Old Fort Prison Complex, where prisoners were once segregated by race. Instead of erasing that history, parts of the prison were preserved and incorporated into a building dedicated to protecting human rights.

Daryl explained that the building was designed around the idea of “justice under a tree.” Traditionally, people gathered under trees to discuss community issues and resolve conflicts. Inside the Court, the columns suggest tree trunks, the ceiling openings allow light to filter through like leaves, and tree-stump seating reinforces that idea. The space was designed to feel open and accessible rather than intimidating.

We also saw the carved wooden entrance doors, which represent the 27 rights in the Bill of Rights. The doors include multiple South African languages, Sign Language, and Braille. As an art teacher, I was especially interested in how much of the building uses art, architecture, language, and design to teach the values of democracy.

The courtroom itself was also intentionally designed. Advocates stand at the same level as the justices, which reflects dialogue rather than hierarchy. Behind the judges are low windows where only the legs of people passing outside can be seen, a reminder that justice should not be influenced by race, clothing, appearance, or status. The press area sits above everything else as a reminder of the important role it plays.

After the Constitutional Court, we visited the Apartheid Museum. I was glad I had read Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom before coming because it helped me understand more of the history as I moved through the exhibits.

The museum begins by randomly assigning visitors a ticket labeled “white” or “non-white,” and they enter through separate doors based on the label. It is a direct reminder of how apartheid classified and separated people by race.

The most difficult part for me was a video about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. One story that stayed with me was about Siphiwo Mtimkulu, a young anti-apartheid student activist who was detained, poisoned, and later disappeared and was killed. His mother, Joyce Mtimkulu, held up his hair and scalp as evidence of the poisoning. Watching families face people connected to the suffering and deaths of their loved ones was very hard to process.

After the museum, we ate lunch at Chez Alina in Soweto. The food was incredible. I tried every dish and had a Castle Lager from South Africa.

After lunch, members of KYP, the Kliptown Youth Program, performed a gumboot dance for us. They also invited us to learn a rhythm with them. A woman sang for us before we left.

Before we left, Alina spoke to us about the importance of giving local youth, especially boys, opportunities to gain work experience. She said, “I’m just polishing them for their own future,” and explained that she encourages them to take other jobs when they get the opportunity. Her restaurant is not only a place to feed people; it is also a place where young people can learn and prepare for future work.

We then continued through Soweto and passed Mandela House on Vilakazi Street.

Our final major stop was the Hector Pieterson Memorial. Darryl told us the story of June 16, 1976, when students protested the use of Afrikaans as a required language of instruction and police opened fire. Hector Pieterson was one of the students killed.

The famous photograph shows Hector being carried by Mbuyisa Makhubo, with Hector’s sister Antoinette Sithole running beside them. As we arrived, we saw Darryl embrace a woman. After telling us the story, he explained that she was Antoinette.

Darryl also shared that on another visit, he met the mother of Mbuyisa Makhubo, the student carrying Hector in the photograph. After the photo was published, Mbuyisa was harassed, went into exile, and his family never knew for certain what happened to him.

Day 4 connected several major themes from the program: inequality, history, justice, memory, art, education, and community. The Constitutional Court showed how a public building can teach democratic values. The Apartheid Museum showed the brutality of racial classification and state violence. Chez Alina and KYP showed how community members are investing in young people. The Hector Pieterson Memorial reminded us that students have played a powerful role in South Africa’s history.

Day 3: Education, Community, and History in South Africa

Day 3 focused on education in South Africa, from the school system as a whole to community-based programs serving young children, youth, and adults.

On the bus ride, Darryl shared several things about South African schools and history. Students wear uniforms, which he said many South Africans value because uniforms help create a sense of equality. He also shared that he waited in line for four hours during South Africa’s first democratic election.

Our first visit was with the Catholic Institute of Education, where Mduduzi Qwabe spoke to us about the South African school system and the work of Catholic schools. We learned about the structure of schooling, public and independent schools, early childhood development, literacy challenges, restorative practices, and the Three-Stream Model, which includes academic, vocational, and occupational pathways.

One statistic that stood out was that 81% of Grade 4 students could not read for meaning in any language. We also heard about the “Thrive by Five” assessment, which showed that many young children were not thriving cognitively or physically by age five. Those numbers helped frame the rest of the day because both of our next visits focused heavily on early childhood education and community support.

Our next stop was New Schools of Hope in the Zama Zama informal settlement. The organization began as a Bible study group concerned about education and grew into a program that now serves children through multiple schools. Their work focuses on early childhood education, play-based learning, teacher development, nutrition, health care, sanitation, and community partnerships.

We learned that many of the children speak multiple home languages, and English is not always their first language. The school uses integrated, play-based learning, with new themes each week or every two weeks for the youngest children. One idea shared with us was that “talents are equally distributed, but opportunities are not.”

After learning about the program, we visited the children. We observed praise and worship, met some of the youngest children, and then spent time with the older children. Stations were set up for face painting and nail painting, and it was a simple but meaningful way to interact with them.

After lunch at Wonderboom Junction, we visited PEN in Pretoria. PEN stands for Participate, Envision, Navigate. The organization works with young children, youth, and adults experiencing homelessness. Their programs include Early Childhood Development support centers, youth programming, tutoring, meals, life skills, work readiness, and support for adults working toward stability.

We learned that PEN supports 8 Early Childhood Development centers, 227 daycares, 1,098 staff members, and more than 11,000 children. Their model focuses on helping people build long-term independence rather than only meeting immediate needs.

At PEN, we went into a large hall where students were gathered for a lesson. Darryl told us that seeing the students in that space was symbolic because when he was young, a hall like that would likely have been used for white students under very different circumstances. The lesson reviewed goal setting, child protection, bullying prevention, conflict resolution, and how to treat others.

After the lesson, the older students performed a dance. Then students with birthdays during Term 2 were recognized. Everyone sang, the students stood around three cakes, made a wish, and blew out the candles together. Before we left, one of the staff members proudly showed me their student art gallery.

As we were leaving, the children waved goodbye, and each of us was given a bar of handmade soap.

Our last stop was the Nelson Mandela Memorial at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Many people were there taking photos, including graduation photos. One young woman named Felicia had just graduated from studying to become a teacher. When she found out we were teachers from the United States, she wanted a picture with us, and we wished her good luck as she begins her teaching career.

We also had a brief conversation with a man near the statue. He asked where we were from, and when we told him we were a group of teachers from the United States, he said, “But the World Cup is there! Why are you here?” We told him we were here to learn about South African culture and education. He smiled and seemed pleased with that answer.

Day 3 gave us a lot to think about. We learned about the structure of education in South Africa, but we also saw how schools and community programs are connected to much larger issues: poverty, language, safety, health care, employment, history, and belonging.

Day 2: First Impressions, Public Art, and Everyday Details

 After such a long travel day, Day 2 began with a buffet breakfast at the hotel, a short orientation, and then some free time to explore in small groups. Our group stayed close to Nelson Mandela Square and Michelangelo Plaza, which gave us a chance to take in the area without wandering too far from the hotel.

One of my favorite moments was seeing a group of young preschool boys gathered at the base of the statue for a picture. Here were these children standing at the feet of a figure whose life and legacy helped shape the world they are growing up in now.

As an art teacher, I was also drawn to all of the public art in the square. Around the plaza were large sculptural heads, some painted in bright colors and graphic patterns, and others made of open metal forms that allowed light, shadow, and the city itself to pass through them. They were beautiful, strange, bold, and impossible for me not to photograph from every angle.

The square itself was an interesting blend of memory, commerce, tourism, and everyday life. There were restaurants, shops, people taking photos, children on an outing, businesspeople walking through, and tourists like us trying to absorb everything at once. It was a reminder that history does not sit separately in a museum case. It lives in public spaces, in names, in statues, in conversations, and in the way people move around those places each day.

After walking around the square, we went into the mall and spent some time looking around a grocery store. The cereal aisle became a cultural comparison activity. Some brands were familiar, but the packaging, sizes, flavors, and combinations were different. We noticed smaller cereal boxes and serving sizes, and we also had a helpful employee talk with us about some of the brands.

I loved the Kellogg’s “Mash-Ups” box; it combined Corn Flakes, strawberry Rice Krispies, and Froot Loops into one cereal, which felt chaotic in the most colorful way. 

Later, we had tea with lunch, and enjoyed the small pause of that moment. The cup and saucer were patterned so beautifully, and after the busy morning of walking, looking, comparing, and taking pictures, sitting down with tea felt like a quiet reset.

That evening, we had dinner at Trumps Grillhouse and Butchery. One of our group asked our waitress what she would like our students to know about South Africa. She talked with us about how Africans look out for one another, support their communities, and like to give back. 

After dinner, we walked through Mandela Square at night to get back to our hotel. The same space felt completely different once the lights came on. 

Day 2 was not packed with formal site visits, but it gave me a memorable first layer of impressions: public art, everyday shopping, food, design, conversations, and the way history is woven into ordinary spaces. It reminded me that learning while traveling does not only happen during scheduled tours. Sometimes it happens in the cereal aisle, over a cup of tea, under a statue, or in a brief conversation at dinner.

Day 1: Leaving North Carolina and Arriving in South Africa

In the next few posts, I’ll be sharing about my experiences in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. I was selected to participate in Go Global NC’s Global Teachers: Southern Africa 2026 program, a professional learning program for North Carolina educators. The purpose of the program is to help teachers develop a deeper understanding of southern Africa through direct experiences with history, culture, education, conservation, land use, development, and shared global challenges.

Throughout the program, I will be thinking about what I can bring back to my students and classroom, especially as a visual arts teacher. I am interested in paying attention to schools, public art, community spaces, murals, classroom environments, student work, symbols of identity, and the ways people and places communicate who they are. My hope is that this program will deepen my own understanding and eventually grow into lessons, projects, and conversations that help my students see the world, and their own place in it, with a wider lens.

This first post covers “Day 1,” our travel day: leaving North Carolina on June 23, flying through Newark, and arriving in Johannesburg on June 24.

On June 23, Jeff drove me to RDU. It was raining, and I was more nervous than I expected. Before I left home, I hugged both boys goodbye. I have traveled plenty in my life, so I can't really explain why I was so nervous, but by the time I got out of the car at the airport, I felt like I was about to board a roller coaster.

The first person I saw was Tyler, who recognized me from our Go Global group bio and called my name. I was immediately grateful because, in my state of anxiety, it probably would have taken me ten minutes to read the directions and figure out how to attach the luggage tag to my checked bag. Tyler had it done in less than a minute.

Our group leaving from RDU had a little trouble getting started. Because of weather, our flight was delayed a couple of hours. At one point, we even had to deplane and then board again, which added a little extra stress since we still had an international connection waiting for us in Newark. Thankfully, everything worked out. Once we arrived in Newark, we met up with the rest of our group, including those who had flown from Charlotte.

From Newark, we boarded a United Dreamliner for Johannesburg. The flight was about fifteen hours. We boarded around 9:00 p.m. on June 23, ate dinner, and I went to sleep soon after. When I woke up, it was daylight on June 24. I slept on and off, stared at the flight map, and before I knew it, we were watching the sun set again.

One of the most beautiful moments of the flight was looking out the window as we flew over the Namib Desert. From above, the land looked almost unreal, full of lines, textures, and ridges with no visible signs of human disturbance.

We landed in Johannesburg around 6:30 p.m. on June 24 and made it through customs fairly easily. After collecting our luggage, our whole group gathered in the airport: tired, relieved, and officially here.

Our guide, Darryl, met us at the airport, along with our bus driver, whose name was Nkululeko, to the best of my spelling ability. On the ride to our hotel, Darryl began introducing us to Johannesburg. He explained that the airport is outside the city and spoke honestly about some of the realities here, including deep inequality and high unemployment. He also talked about language, currency, religious diversity, and the importance of greeting people warmly before getting down to business.

One idea he shared that stayed with me was Ubuntu, a South African moral philosophy rooted in shared humanity and connectedness. It is often described as “I am because we are.” As I continue to think about that idea, I want to keep listening for it throughout this program: in schools, in conversations, in hospitality, in history, and in the way people care for one another.

We are staying at the Garden Court in Johannesburg's financial district. After we arrived, my roommate and I got settled, put away our luggage, and headed downstairs for dinner with a few members of our group. I ordered three mini cheeseburgers, a bottle of water, and a glass of wine, and the whole meal was 230 Rand, about $14.

By the end of the night, I was exhausted, but grateful. Day 1 was mostly airports, delays, long flights, and luggage, but it was also the beginning of a bigger learning experience. We left North Carolina carrying our usual pace and assumptions. We arrived in South Africa ready to slow down, listen, and learn.

Celebrating Student Work from Unit 4: Space

I’m really proud of the work my students created at the end of our Unit 4: Space - Achieving Depth on a 2D Surface.

This was a big learning curve for many of them. We started with the basics of how artists create the illusion of space. We worked through linear perspective, shading, and aerial perspective in small steps. From boxes to cityscapes to interiors, they slowly built the skills they needed.

Link to Unit Plan: Unit 4: Space - Achieving Depth on a 2-dimensional surface

Link to Project: Beyond the Horizon: A Landscape Project